


Fool and Emperor

by pixelpiano



Series: Persona 5 Valentine's Gay [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chatlogs, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Partial Nudity, Sorry I called him Ren instead of Akira, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 05:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17912960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixelpiano/pseuds/pixelpiano
Summary: After over a month in juvenile hall, Ren finally gets to reunite with his special someone. And on Valentine's Day, no less...





	Fool and Emperor

**Author's Note:**

> The chatlog is supposed to be on Ren's phone, hence why his messages are "me", and Yusuke's screen name is basically a pun meaning "I love you". 
> 
> Enjoy!

  
Mon: 21:34

  


**Yu-suki:** I know this is short notice, and a selfish request, however…

Tomorrow *is* Valentine’s Day, and I was hoping we could spend it…together?

...just you and me?

**me:** we could take a paddleboat out to the middle of the lake? ~_^

**Yu-suki:** That sounds lovely

Oh, wait…

I don’t think I can afford that *and* be able to eat this week…

  


**me:** my treat? ;*

**Yu-suki:** Then it’s a date!

**me:** oh, wait

boss wants me to work the shop tomorrow…>_>

cant really bail on that…

**Yu-suki:** Then let’s just enjoy some coffee at Leblanc in the evening.

And maybe we could go to your room after?

**me:** a romantic night in sounds nice ~<3

ill see u then!!

* * *

The late evening atmosphere was quite calming. It had been an unusually busy day for Leblanc, but Ren and Boss had made it through the entourage of awkward dates and grumpy singles. Ren was washing dishes at the back sink while Sojiro was doing prep work for the next day.

“Oh, right, today’s Valentine’s Day,” Sojiro remarked. “No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here.”

“You thought this many customers just decided to show up on a whim to a hole-in-the-wall cafe in Yongen-Jaya’s backstreets?”

Sojiro scoffed, changing the subject. “Don’t you have anything exciting happening? I mean, you’ve been here nearly a whole year…” he teased. “You know, when I was young, hoo boy…”

Ren didn’t have to look to know exactly how Boss’s face looked. His cheeks flushed a bit, so he kept his head down as he continued washing. He was thus grateful when he heard the bells on the door jingle to take Boss’s attention off of him.

“…Good evening Sakura-san.”

Ren blushed harder. Yusuke’s voice was always so smooth and polite.

“Ah, Yusuke! What brings you here? Can I get you anything?”

“I’ll have a cup of your house blend, please. And I’m here to see Ren.”

“This guy?” Sojiro asked, preparing Yusuke his coffee, “What, a couple of pretty boys like you two couldn’t get any girls for Valentine’s Day?”

Ren dried his hands on the dishtowel hanging by the sink and untied his apron, heading over towards the booth where Yusuke had sat.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that,” Yusuke explained. “I’m here to see him precisely _because_ it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Sojiro was silent for a moment. Then a sly grin spread across his face. “Ohhh…you should’ve just told me,” he said, winking at Ren.

Ren just shrugged. “Guess it just never came up.”

Boss winked, and tossed Ren the Leblanc key ring. “Here,” he said, “I’ll leave the store to you.”

“Thanks, Boss,”

“Don’t mention it. You two enjoy yourselves now!” he called over his shoulder as the door shut itself behind him.

Ren shook his head. Yusuke was blushing slightly. Suddenly, he scrambled out of the booth seat and ran up to Ren, hugging him tight.

“I really missed you…” he whispered into Ren’s chest.

Ren smiled, and he placed a soft kiss atop Yusuke’s head. Yusuke had a tendency to be dramatique, but he was rarely this forward.

It was nice…

“I’m sorry!” Yusuke said, pulling away and gesturing towards the booth. “You must exhausted. They didn’t hurt you, did they? While you were locked up? I’ll never forgive them if they’ve placed so much as a scratch on my number one model!”

Ren just laughed, wiping away a tear. Gods he had missed Yusuke.

“—then again, they do say scars build character. Maybe it’ll add an element of danger. Perhaps then my art would actually sell some copies, and then I could be able to provi—”

Ren took Yusuke’s face in his hands and kissed him before he could finish. Like, really kissed him. And when Yusuke wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist, he kissed him some more. He ran one hand through Yusuke’s coarse, dark hair, and gripped the fabric of Yusuke’s shirt with his other.

And he didn’t stop kissing him until he was satisfied. And when he broke away, he was even more satisfied to see that he had left Yusuke breathing heavily, hair tousled and shirt wrinkled. And when Yusuke’s stomach growled shortly after, he couldn’t help but ask him if he was “hungry for more.”

“You…have been eating while I’ve been gone, right?” Ren asked.

Yusuke looked sheepish. “I’ve been rationing instant noodles for the past few weeks,” he admitted.

“I’ll make you some curry then. I didn’t have time to buy you chocolates for today, so this’ll have to do instead,” Ren teased.

Yusuke looked like he was about to protest, but when his stomach let out another growl, he blushed, nodded his head, and took a seat at the counter.

* * *

With their stomachs filled, Ren and Yusuke went upstairs to Ren’s room in the attic. Ren sat on the edge of his bed and waited for Yusuke to sit next to him, but instead, Yusuke just stood there.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well…” Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his neck. He then went to his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag of chocolates.

“Please tell me you didn’t spend the little money you had on chocolates for me,” Ren pleaded.

“…would you be mad if I did?” Yusuke asked.

How could he be so smart and yet so dense??

“I started saving up the day I heard you were taken away,” Yusuke continued, averting his eyes. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to give them to you…but just in case I got the chance, I wanted to make sure I was here to welcome you back.”

“So you starved yourself on the off-chance that I’d be let out early?”

Yusuke nodded. “Everyone else was working so hard to help free you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do much at all…I thought I could channel the melancholy of the situation into my art, but it just hurt too much to take up a brush knowing that I might not see you again…”

Ren sighed. “I’m sorry…I thought telling you would just hurt you more…”

“Lies have already costed me my whole life once,” Yusuke stated. “…you almost made it twice…”

Ren hung his head. He heard Yusuke sigh, and felt the weight of the mattress shift as Yusuke sat next to him. When he felt Yusuke’s arms wrap around him and hold him close, the tears started to come.

“I’m sorry…” Yusuke whispered, planting tender kisses in Ren’s soft curls. “I didn’t mean to make you cry…”

Ren shook his head in protest against Yusuke’s chest, unable to speak through his sobs.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, and it’s not fair of me to make you hurt even more after what you’ve been through,” Yusuke continued squeezing Ren tight. “Least of all on Valentine’s Day of all days…”

“But ever since I met you…since you kissed me against that tree in Inokashira Park…” he continued, “You, Ren Amamiya, have been my desire and my hope…you have become what my heart yearns for, what my spirit lives for—…”

“What your stomach aches for?” Ren asked with a sad chuckle.

Yusuke couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I am also thankful to you and Boss for feeding this starving artist,” he admitted.

Ren sat up slowly, wiping at his eyes and glancing at the wet patch he had left on Yusuke’s shirt. “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

Yusuke shrugged, and took his shirt off, draping it over Ren’s desk chair. “It’ll dry quickly enough,” he remarked. He then hugged Ren close, pulling the both of them fully onto the mattress. Ren quickly snuggled against his chest, leaving absentminded kisses along it, while Yusuke traced various patterns along Ren’s back.

“I just…don’t want this to end,” Yusuke finally whispered. “‘This’ being us, being able to be together…”

“I promise I’ll come visit when I can,” Ren answered back. “And once we both graduate, we can try and figure something out together…”

“I’d like that.”

The two lay together in tender silence. As sleep began to drag Yusuke’s eyelids down, he heard the faintest whisper from Ren’s lips.

“Yusuke…?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“…I love you.”

Yusuke’s heart beat faster. But as quick as the excitement came, it left, leaving behind only a warm, comforting feeling inside. He ran his fingers through Ren’s hair and hugged him tight before answering.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let's be honest, this is the Valentine's Day event we all deserved, because Yusuke really is best waifu...


End file.
